ACT Webcast Series Environmental Grudge Match: Solar Panels vs. Trees. A Resource List

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1 ACT WEBCAST SERIES The ACT Webcast Series is a webcast held at the lunch hour on Thursdays, and is made possible through support from The Home Depot Foundation and USDA Forest Service. The goal is to provide training opportunities for local urban and community forestry practitioners. The trainings highlight successful programs and practices that you may want to adapt in your communities. Webcasts are open to all. Correctly planting and protecting trees is a good thing to do. However, planting and protecting trees also requires coordinating time and resources. ACT minimizes such requirements by sharing the innovative ideas and organized approaches of successful projects and models for members to replicate. We invite you to join the Alliance for Community Trees for more ways to get involved. Together, we create a strong voice on behalf of the urban forest and make a great difference in the health, beauty, and livability of our communities. We strengthen communities by offering action-oriented approaches that bring people together around a common purpose. TOPIC Heat-beating, energy-saving shade is one of the most direct benefits of residential trees, but what happens when that shade falls on solar panels? With the increased interest in solar panels as a clean energy alternative, the conflict between trees and solar panels has become a hot topic. The public believes that having to choose between energy technologies such as clean coal and nuclear power instead of energy conservation strategies such as shade trees and greenroofs is a false choice, but that's not how some legislatures and courts are moving. We can do both and must. TRAINERS Rhonda Berry Dan Staley President & CEO Urban Planner Our City Forest 3095 S. Killarney Way 151 Mission Street #151 Aurora, CO San Jose, CA x106 staley.dan@gmail.com rberry@ourcityforest.org Rhonda Berry is the founder and president since 1994 of Our City Forest, a Silicon Valley urban forestry nonprofit based in San José, California. Rhonda received her B.A. from University of California at Berkeley, majoring in social work and race relations, and completed coursework for a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning. Our City Forest provides a full array of programs and consulting services to neighborhoods, schools, businesses and government agencies. Current projects include a master street tree inventory, expansion of its Green San José training program, and San José s 100,000 Trees Project. Dan Staley is an urban planner and urban forester on Colorado s Front Range. He studied Urban Forestry at the University of California, Davis and Urban Planning at the University of Washington, Seattle, where he focused on urban ecology and environmental planning. Dan s current practice integrates land use and environmental planning to maximize the benefits of green infrastructure for built and natural environments. His recent projects include a paper on the urban heat island and work on complete streets and solar access. His work as a volunteer naturalist for the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory allows him to see trees outside of urban areas as well. Page 1

2 IN THE NEWS Could U.S. Meet All Electricity Needs with Large-Scale Solar Power Plants? In May 2008 Environment America released a report showing that the United States could meet all of its current electricity needs with large central concentrating solar power plants. The report, "On the Rise: Solar Thermal Power and the Fight Against Global Warming," finds that these solar thermal power plants, covering a 100 by 100 mile area in the Southwest- slightly more than what's already been excavated in the United States for coal strip mining- could power the entire nation while cutting global warming emissions. More information at: A Bright Future for Solar Energy? Solar power is often offered as one of the most promising forms of renewable energy. How effective can solar power be, and how close is the solar power industry to being able to deliver on the promise of the technology? Rhone Resch, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association, and Evan Schwartz, writer and producer of NOVA's Saved By the Sun, discuss these questions in a February 2008 NPR piece. More information at: Resident Wins Battle Of Trees vs. Solar Panels (Winter Springs, FL) It's the battle over being green. A Winter Springs homeowner installed thousands of dollars in solar panels on his home, but the city's eco-friendly laws wouldn't let him cut down the trees at his home so the sun could shine on the panels. Now, the city has changed policy and the homeowner sees the light. Direct sunlight is what makes the $26,000 in new solar panels atop Nancy Riordan's house worth the price. Yet, it's what Riordan says Winter Springs almost didn't let her have. Riordan installed the panels in January after years of $600 Progress Energy bills. The hitch was a front yard full of trees, trees the city tries to protect. The city told the Riordans they couldn't remove trees unless they planted replacements there or paid $250 dollars apiece for replanting elsewhere. They disagreed to both options on principle. It felt like we were at a standstill, Riordan said. But this week, the city relented. Commissioners changed policy Monday, allowing tree removal for solar devices and allowing the Riordans to move forward. More information at: Proposed tree removals at Franklin library irk some (Des Moines, IA) Opinions differ on whether 11 mature trees on public property should be removed to accommodate a solar energy system at the soon-to-be renovated Franklin Avenue Library on Des Moines northwest side. I m not sure I m comfortable with the idea that every time someone s putting up a solar panel we re going to set a precedent that we re going to cut down trees that are in the way of the sun, said Loyd Ogle, a member of the city s Parks and Recreation Board. Ogle last night voted against a proposal to cut down seven pine trees at Glendale Cemetery that are just behind the library at 5000 Franklin Ave. The majority of the board members approved the tree removals on the condition that a restoration plan- at the library s expense- be developed to compensate for the loss of the trees. Engineers working on the design of the library project said the trees would prevent adequate sunlight from reaching solar collectors and panels placed on the roof of the building. More information at: Urban Planning (Aurora, CO) Dan Staley introduces listeners to the benefits and conflicts with solar access in this April 2010 podcast. One of these conflicts is that in an urban environment, trees often grow into the solar access plains. Each species also grows at a different speed and to a different width and height, all of which must be incorporated into the design. The benefits of both solar access and trees are well known and include reduction of energy requirements, improvement in comfort levels, and other environmental benefits. New laws were implemented for solar access in Florida, California, and other states that specify the height of the buildings and trees that demonstrated optimal solar access. Page 2

3 More information at: IN THE NEWS- California Our City Forest (San Jose, CA) In 2008 a Santa Clara County judge ruled in favor of solar panel owners and ordered a Sunnyvale household to cut away two trees which shaded their neighbor s panels. Given that the trees were planted four years before the installation of the panels, the order shocked many. However, the ruling was based on a State law passed in 1978 mandating the trimming or removal of any trees that grow to block solar panel s access to sunlight during mid-day hours. As this debate continues, so Our City Forest continues to promote the enormous environmental value of urban trees. Community solar hubs, along with new technology such as solar paint and window film are all solutions to this issue which will continue to allow both trees and solar energy to play an important role in our qualify of life. Trees Block Solar Panels, and a Feud Ends in Court (Sunnyvale, CA) A couple in Sunnyvale, Calif., was convicted of criminal activity and ordered to cut twelve-year-old trees on their property so as not to interfere with their neighbor s new solar panels. Trees are usually considered sturdy citizens of the sun-swept peninsula south of San Francisco, not criminal elements. But under a 1978 state law protecting homeowners' investment in rooftop solar panels, trees that impede solar panels' access to the sun were deemed a nuisance and their owners fined up to $1,000 a day. The Solar Shade Act was a curiosity until late 2007, when a dispute over eight redwoods ended up in Santa Clara County criminal court. The couple who planted the trees, Carolynn Bissett and Richard Treanor, were convicted of violating the law, based on the complaint of their neighbor, Mark Vargas, and were ordered to make sure that no more than 10 percent of the solar panels are shaded. More information at: In California Neighbors Dispute, Officials Find It s Time to Speak for the Trees (San Francisco, CA) Neither State Senator Joe Simitian of California nor the state s governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, bears much resemblance to Dr. Seuss s Lorax. But on Tuesday, like that fictional defender of the environment, they spoke for the trees. More than six months after two Santa Clara residents were convicted under a state nuisance law for letting their redwoods cast shade on a neighbor s solar panels, the governor signed into law a bill that gives trees the right to grow as they please- as long as they predate any solar panels they might be shading. I think we ve demonstrated that there is nothing mutually inconsistent about trees and solar, said Mr. Simitian, a Democrat who wrote the bill, shortly after the measure was signed on Tuesday. I was frustrated by the tone of the debate at the outset- that it was somehow about trees versus solar. I thought it should be about trees and solar. More information at: Tree removal deal revives Southwest desert solar plan (California City) California City, Calif. (February 14, 2010) A developer who proposes to cut down hundreds of trees to make way for a massive project could expect to provoke a fair amount of environmental outrage. Not in California City. Officials in this sprawling desert community east of Bakersfield are thrilled at NextEra Energy's move to break out the chain saws. The firm, a subsidiary of utility giant FPL Group, is seeking to build a solar power plant in the area that would consume a large amount of water. The trees are tamarisks, a water-hungry invasive species, and removing them could help recharge the aquifer in this arid region. But state policy prohibits the use of drinking water for power plant cooling, and local residents lined up at public hearings to express concern that the solar farm would drain their aquifer. More information at: Page 3

4 SUCCESS STORIES- On the Ground Sacramento Shade Program (Sacramento, CA) The Sacramento Tree Foundation, in partnership with Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), the local utility company, operates a free Shade Tree Program which delivers education and quality trees to residents with the goal of shading buildings and reducing energy consumption. Since 1990 more than 400,000 free energy-saving shade trees have been planted through the program, which has become a model utility nonprofit partnership nationwide. Among the lessons STF has learned through this program is to remember the importance of planting the right tree in the right place. For example, the installation of solar panels changes where a tree should be sited to best capture energy savings. More information at: Trees Atlanta Kendeda Center LEED Platinum (Atlanta, GA) Trees Atlanta s Kendeda Center in the Reynoldstown Community of Atlanta received the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED Platinum certification in The Kendeda Center is designed to serve as the non-profit's headquarters and also offers meeting and event space to the community. The building s design includes the opportunity for effective use of green infrastructure and solar cells. The Living Green Roof on the Home Depot Program Operations Center demonstrates three different rooftop planting options and allows space for solar panels. More information at: The Home Depot Foundation and Reynoldstown Senior Residences (Atlanta, GA) The Home Depot Foundation s first cycle of grants to assist cities in their efforts to develop sustainable communities in 2010 included $75,000 for Resources for Residents and Communities (RRC) in Atlanta, Georgia. The grant will be used to fund specific green components of Reynoldstown Senior Residences, a 78-unit affordable housing community in Atlanta's oldest African American neighborhood. Green features will include new trees, water conservation plumbing and solar panels among other sustainable building practices. RRC is seeking Earth Craft certification for this project by following a rigorous set of nationally recognized green building and landscaping guidelines. More information at: Iowans Want Energy Conservation (Iowa) A December 2007 study found that more than three out of five Iowans (64 percent) agree with the following statement: "... the best energy alternative is greater efficiency and conservation to eliminate waste, combined with more wind, solar power and other alternative energy Those agreeing include 73 percent of Democrats, 54 percent of Republicans and 68 percent of Independents. While the study was based on a statewide debate on new coal power plants, the statement attests to the national desire for innovative energy solutions. The desired combination of energy conservation and alternative production could be successfully accomplished by a thoughtful integration of trees for conservation and solar panels for generation. More information at: w_co.php Page 4

5 SUCCESS STORIES- National Legislation Green Resources for Energy Efficient Neighborhoods (GREEN) Act for Affordable Mortgages The GREEN Act provides incentives to lenders and financial institutions to provide lower interest loans and other benefits to consumers, who build, buy or remodel their homes and businesses to improve their energy efficiency and use of alternative energy. This legislation reflects foresight and the considered input of a broad coalition of housing advocates, home builders, financial institutions, government leaders, developers, and the environmental community. Incentives for housing developers to partner with tree-planting organizations to certify that trees, shrubs, grasses, and other plants are planted in the proper manner and provided adequate maintenance. One of the bill s provisions requires siting of housing and improvements in a manner that provides for energy efficiency and conservation. It also requires that not less than 50% of the total area of paved surfaces at the site of such housing will be shaded, consist of greenspace, be covered by solar energy panels or greenroofs, or be part of a geo-thermal piping system. More information at: hbor.php Energy Conservation through Trees Act ACT staff and board members worked closely with Congresswoman Doris Matsui to develop the Energy Conservation through Trees Act, which would encourage utility companies to partner with local nonprofit tree planting organizations to plant trees to reduce residential energy demand. The purpose of the legislation is to help homeowners lower their electric bills (and help utilities lower their peak load demand) by reducing residential energy demand caused by the need to run air conditioners and heaters at a high level. The legislation requires the use of science-based tree-siting guidelines to ensure that trees are not planted in locations that will disrupt pre-existing infrastructure, block solar panels and wind turbines, or damage power lines. Utilities that receive assistance would be required to partner with nonprofit tree-planting organizations or other municipal infrastructure groups to run the technical side of the program. These nonprofit groups are meant to serve as tree-planting experts to complement utilities' financial interest in lowering peak energy demand and reducing consumption. More information at: php Page 5